Experiments in Study Diversification

Recently I’ve been studying how to draw cartoon eyes and heads– specifically trying to figure out how to draw the eyes and facial features from any angle. To help me get a better grasp on the dimensions and foreshortening of a cartoon head, I decided to sculpt a couple maquettes out of cheap polymer clay I got from Walmart. Check it out! These faces are vaguely based on characters from Studio Ghibli’s “Ponyo.”

So far I’ve made two, and they’re not the prettiest things ever but I would say the experiment was a success. Sculpting the faces forced me to consider aspects of the head that were invisible to me when drawing with just pencil and paper. I would definitely encourage you drawers out there to try out sculpting if you’re hitting a road block.

ANNOUNCEMENT!

After a good amount of thought I’ve decided to finish up this series of essays on sustainable creativity and self-publish them all in a book entitled “Brick by Brick.” I still have about 60 or 70 more pages worth of essays to draw, but once that is finished my hope is to micro-fund the first print-run through Kickstarter– maybe some time in September? Stay tuned!

Thanks for all your support since this project began– I really appreciate your kind notes and words of encouragement.

Good advice for anyone: find a reference or make one. I’m pretty sure lots of traditional animators do this for characters they’re animating; or a studio will do it for a team. I’m sure cartoonists cheat for angles that look funny as a literal 2D representation of a 3D character – more or less depending on the style. You don’t need a super polished sculpture to help get around mental blocks for foreshortening/shadows. Great plan!

Oh yes, the book! Can’t wait for it!
And just a tiny suggestion: please make some pledges include multiple book copies – kickstarter allows to pledge to the project only once. And I’d like to get around three copies! With autographs!

My son shared your site. Each chapter is better than the last. My boys and me are A.D.D. and experiment/share tips and have struggled with each of the issues you provide tips on. Thank You!

I sat next to a famous sculpturer on a flight and he opened his bag of clay heads and tools with me. I have never been so relaxed and inspired in my life after that flight. However, I do not know WHY I have never repeated it (despite immediately buying supplies). I am addicted to this monitor…ugh. I will go learn about RSS feeds as you suggest.